MLB Grind Down: Sunday, August 24th

by Ryan138 Last Updated 2014-08-24 15:14:30

The RotoGrinders MLB Grind Down article will give you an in-depth analysis into the MLB schedule. This article will break down the numbers for every single game and give you analysis on which trends you can exploit. While matchups are a major factor in daily fantasy baseball, there are plenty of other factors to consider such as injuries, weather, and salaries.

The analysis should point you in the right direction, but it is still up to you to decipher the information and make your own selections. No sport has more variance than baseball. The best choice is not always the right choice but following the trends will win you money over time.

Note: Any Fantasy Point Average Listed Uses FanDuel Scoring. For more info on FanDuel’s MLB Scoring System,check out the scoring systems section of our FanDuel Review

Chicago White Sox at NY Yankees

Chicago White Sox					NY Yankees
Chris Sale		Vegas Moneyline			Chris Capuano		Vegas Over/Under
LEFT		CWS (-130)			LEFT		7.0
Stats	Avg	OPS	wOBA	K%	Stats	Avg	OPS	wOBA	K%
SP vs. Left	0.135	0.333	0.160	38.70%	SP vs. Left	0.308	0.837	0.367	16.80%
SP vs. Right	0.218	0.604	0.270	27.60%	SP vs. Right	0.236	0.687	0.301	24.70%
Batter Splits	CHW BvP		CHW vs L		Batter Splits	NYY BvP		NYY vs L
Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window

Pitcher Grind Down

• Chris Sale – Sale struggled a bit in his last start against the Orioles, but he was still able to strike out 8 batters and only allow 3 earned runs. He faced this Yankees team earlier and went 6 innings, 0 earned runs and 10 K’s. He has the stuff to shut down this lefty heavy Yankee lineup and should pitch very well today. He should get some run support as I think Capuano will get hit a bit. Rating = 8

Salaries: $10700 FD, $21300 DD, $12800 DK, $NA FF, $31500 SS, $21300 FTD

• Chris Capuano – Capuano has not been as terrible as I thought he would be after being acquired by the Yankees, but he hasn’t been good either. He has allowed 8 earned runs in his last two starts and will now have to square up against Abreu. If he can pitch around him, his strikeouts have been good enough (8, 7, 8 in last 3) to warrant a GPP look, but I will be avoiding him today. Rating = 4

Salaries: $5800 FD, $11950 DD, $6600 DK, $ FF, $13000 SS, $ FTD

Batter Grind Down

Chicago White Sox

Jose Abreu – Abreu against a subpar LH pitcher in a hitters park? Sign me up!

Additional Plays: Alexei Ramirez

NY Yankees

I would not pay up for any of the Yankees bats today against Sale who I expect to shut the offense down today.

Houston at Cleveland

Houston					Cleveland
Brett Oberholtzer		Vegas Moneyline			Trevor Bauer		Vegas Over/Under
LEFT		CLE (-160)			RIGHT		8.0
Stats	Avg	OPS	wOBA	K%	Stats	Avg	OPS	wOBA	K%
SP vs. Left	0.273	0.723	0.319	21.1%	SP vs. Left	0.259	0.738	0.327	23.10%
SP vs. Right	0.279	0.740	0.323	13.8%	SP vs. Right	0.265	0.765	0.335	20.10%
Batter Splits	HOU BvP		HOU vs R		Batter Splits	CLE BvP		CLE vs L
Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window

Pitcher Grind Down

• Brett Oberholtzer – Oberholtzer has been a very average pitcher all season for the Astros. He holds a 4.01 ERA and a 4-8 record. His strike out rate of 5.97 K/9 adds no value and he will have a tough matchup against the Indians today. Avoid him. Rating = 4

Salaries: $6100 FD, $10300 DD, $6600 DK, $NA FF, $16200 SS, $10300 FTD

• Trevor Bauer – Bauer has consistently given up about 3-5 earned runs in each of his starts this season. Here and there, though, he does put up high strikeout performances against subpar teams like the Diamondbacks. Due to his strike outs, Bauer does make an interesting GPP play against the Astros who have the second highest strike out rate in the league at 23.1%. Rating = 5

Salaries: $5700 FD, $12950 DD, $5600 DK, $ FF, $16600 SS, $12950 FTD

Batter Grind Down

Houston

Jose Altuve – Altuve continues to be one of the best cash game options regardless of handedness of pitcher he opposes. We know he crushes lefties, but he is hitting over .300 against RH pitching this year.

Additional Plays: Dexter Fowler, Chris Carter

Cleveland

Zach Walters – We saw the opposite of what could happen yesterday as he went 0-4. He has beaten up on LH pitching in a small sample and is a cheap punt with a lot of upside.

Additional Plays: Carlos Santana

Tampa Bay at Toronto

Tampa Bay					Toronto
Chris Archer		Vegas Moneyline			Drew Hutchison		Vegas Over/Under
RIGHT		TBR (-125)			RIGHT		8.5
Stats	Avg	OPS	wOBA	K%	Stats	Avg	OPS	wOBA	K%
SP vs. Left	0.212	0.596	0.274	21.9%	SP vs. Left	0.263	0.822	0.357	18.90%
SP vs. Right	0.268	0.687	0.309	22.5%	SP vs. Right	0.233	0.641	0.285	22.90%
Batter Splits	TBR BvP		TBR vs R		Batter Splits	TOR BvP		TOR vs R
Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window

Pitcher Grind Down

• Chris Archer – Archer has pitched very well this season and has a 3.17 ERA to show for it. He backs this up with a nice 8.44 K/9, which adds a lot to his value. With that said, he has to go into Rogers Centre and face the Blue Jays who are finally looking to be at full health. He was knocked around by the Blue Jays earlier this season and his salary combined with the matchup makes him tough to pay up for today. He does make a good GPP play though. Rating = 6

Salaries: $8600 FD, $15600 DD, $8900 DK, $NA FF, $22900 SS, $15600 FTD

• Drew Hutchison – Everytime Hutchison seems to go out and throw a gem, he gets mashed for the next few starts. This happened again as he allowed 13 earned runs in 12.2 innings in his last 2 starts. He is a big underdog today against the Rays in a park that he has a 6.46 ERA at. Avoid him today. Rating = 4

Salaries: $5900 FD, $11100 DD, $5800 DK, $ FF, $17100 SS, $11100 FTD

Batter Grind Down

Tampa Bay

Matt Joyce – His usage should take a big uptick today as he gets to face a RH pitcher in Rogers Centre. Hutchison has allowed a wOBA of .357 against LH batters, which puts Joyce into play today.

Additional Plays: James Loney, Ben Zobrist

Toronto

Melky Cabrera – Another very consistent option continues to be Melky. He has a tough matchup today against Archer, but I don’t think it matters. He has hit the ball well all season and has 4 multi-hit batters in his last 6 games.

Additional Plays: Jose Reyes, Adam Lind

Atlanta at Cincinnati

Atlanta					Cincinnati
Aaron Harang		Vegas Moneyline			Alfredo Simon		Vegas Over/Under
RIGHT		ATL (-112)			RIGHT		8.0
Stats	Avg	OPS	wOBA	K%	Stats	Avg	OPS	wOBA	K%
SP vs. Left	0.303	0.800	0.353	15.6%	SP vs. Left	0.249	0.723	0.316	14.80%
SP vs. Right	0.229	0.647	0.288	18.5%	SP vs. Right	0.232	0.655	0.293	14.60%
Batter Splits	ATL BvP		ATL vs R		Batter Splits	CIN BvP		CIN vs R
Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window

Pitcher Grind Down

• Aaron Harang – That torrid section of the season is over for Harang, but he has been a pretty consistent starter this year. He has a 10-7 record with a 3.50 ERA. His modest 6.61 K/9 does not help his value as he has not had more than 5 strike outs in any of his starts since May. The Reds are starting to get some of their bats back, but Harang should hold them to a few runs only. Rating = 5

Salaries: $6500 FD, $14100 DD, $6500 DK, $NA FF, $17600 SS, $14100 FTD

• Alfredo Simon – Simon has not been a viable fantasy option in the month of August. He has not reached the 6th inning in any of his 4 starts while giving up 15 earned runs combined. He is just allowing way to many base runners at the moment and has little to no strike out potential. Avoid him today. Rating = 4

Salaries: $6300 FD, $12650 DD, $5500 DK, $ FF, $17900 SS, $12650 FTD

Batter Grind Down

Atlanta

Freddie Freeman – Simon has struggled a bit recently against LH bats and Freeman has a wOBA close to 400 against RH pitching. He is a great cash game option today.

Additional Plays: Jason Heyward

Cincinnati

Billy Hamilton – Harang has really struggled against lefties for a wOBA of .353 on the season. Anytime Hamilton has a plus matchup he is in play especially after scooping 3 stolen bases against this Braves squad two games ago.

Additional Plays: Jay Bruce

Seattle at Boston

Seattle					Boston
Hisashi Iwakuma		Vegas Moneyline			Allen Webster		Vegas Over/Under
RIGHT		SEA (-148)			RIGHT		8.0
Stats	Avg	OPS	wOBA	K%	Stats	Avg	OPS	wOBA	K%
SP vs. Left	0.262	0.647	0.285	18.7%	SP vs. Left	0.204	0.595	0.296	11.30%
SP vs. Right	0.193	0.516	0.228	24.5%	SP vs. Right	0.239	0.841	0.364	11.10%
Batter Splits	SEA BvP		SEA vs R		Batter Splits	BOS BvP		BOS vs R
Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window

Pitcher Grind Down

• Hisashi Iwakuma – Iwakuma has been on some sort of streak recently. He has allowed 2 earned runs in his last 4 starts. The stat I really like that I heard was his ridiculous 65/4 K/BB ration in his last month in a half of the season. He draws a bit of a tough matchup going into Fenway, but I still consider him a safe option, just below Strasburg. Rating = 8

Salaries: $9700 FD, $20950 DD, $9900 DK, $NA FF, $29800 SS, $20950 FTD

• Allen Webster – Webster is a large underdog against Iwakuma as run support should be difficult to come by. Webster has given up at least 2 earned runs in each of his 5 starts and has an overall 4.73 ERA. His low K-rate and lack of win possibility takes him out of fantasy relevance today. Rating = 4

Salaries: $5500 FD, $8850 DD, $5700 DK, $ FF, $13200 SS, $8850 FTD

Batter Grind Down

Seattle

Robinson Cano – I am a little disspaointed with Cano after yesterday, but I think he picks up back up today against Webster. Cano is rocking RH pitching this year once against for a wOBA of .400+.

Additional Plays: Kyle Seager

Boston

Avoid the Red Sox bats today.

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